Golden Bird

“What do you mean? Didn’t the State Department, or somebody get in touch with you about me? I thought ...” her voice trailed off.

David shook his head. “No, Sara, nobody contacted us. I don’t know what kind of bull this guy has been feeding you, but we had to hire a private detective to find you.” He told her the story.

“Oh my God.” was all she could say when he finished. “Those poor girls.” She shuddered as she remembered what Abdulah had planned for her, and was thankful she had escaped what those other girls must have endured. Rashid had saved her from that awful fate, but then did he send her right home? No. He had kept her here ... He never did intend to send her home. She was nothing but a plaything to him after all, a toy he’d found and decided to keep around for awhile. He’d said it himself—that she belonged to him. My God! He was as bad as his uncle, or worse—at least Abdulah was honest as to his intentions. What a fool she had been to trust him.

David could see that she was distressed and pulled her close. He whispered over her head, “It’s over darling, you can go home now.”

“Yes,... home,” she said, softly. Then she pulled away from him “But what will I tell everyone ... what will they say?”

David sought her eyes, “Sara, listen to me, it doesn’t matter what anyone says. Whatever happened to you here was not your fault. Do you hear me, Sara?” he was insistent because she looked away, and he thought it was in shame, when in fact it was anger and humiliation she felt. He continued, “We don’t have to tell anybody anything.”

“What about the authorities?” she asked sharply.

“We don’t owe them any explanation. You were missing, we found you, and that’s the end of it.”

“And the man who actually kidnapped me?”

“Do you want to press charges against him? I’ve met the man, and I can tell you truthfully that at first, I wanted to see him dead, at the very least, for what you must have gone through because of him, but I had a lot of time to think about in on the flight over here, and I don’t think he would ever do such a thing again, and it would mean a trial, and the press, ... is that what you want?”